EastEnders' Himesh Patel stopped Tamwar Masood heartbreak with exit

During an appearance on Origins with Cush Jumbo, Patel opened up on his decision to leave the BBC soap after nine years as the affable and nerdy Tamwar Masood.

"I'd always felt that at some point I was going to leave EastEnders because I just wanted to try something different, with no assumption of where that would take me," he explained.

"And I was lucky enough that I left with the door still open. So, you know, they haven't killed me off here."

While Patel hasn't reprised his role since he left the soap, there were plenty of mentions when Nancy returned to Walford, revealing that the pair had got married but later divorced.

Speaking further of his exit, Patel said: "Wonderful Dominic Treadwell-Collins was the exec producer, and he sat me down. Maddy Hill, who played my partner at the time, she was leaving, and I kind of went, 'I want him to have a happy ending here. I think we're going to go together.'

"But I remember having a meeting with Dominic and he was like, 'I don't want you to leave. I want him to be heartbroken on the train platform.' And I was like, 'I don't want to do that to him. I don't want to do that. I want him to be happy.'"

Viewers can only hope that wherever Tamwar is, he is happy, as we know dad Masood is with Jane Beale!

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Plenty of EastEnders fans have a soft spot for Tamwar and the whole Masood clan, with many often calling for their return on social media.

Reflecting on first auditioning for the role of Tamwar, Patel said: "I was playing myself completely. That's who I was, at heart – I'm still a nerd and I really was a very awkward, very nerdy, socially maladapted teenager. They nailed it getting me in there because that was me through and through."

We can only hope the Masoods may one day return!

Origins With Cush Jumbo is available wherever you get your podcasts.

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

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